Team Members: Anthony Angueira, Laura Simko, Alex Hernandez, Louis Segall, Logan Roberts

III. TEAM ORGANIZATION
(Below are sample titles you guys can have, but you can choose somewhat different ones)

Team Coordinator: Anthony

Head Researcher: Louis

Head of Construction/Supplies: Alex

Draft Editor: Laura
Other: Logan


BRAINSTORMING
Drop Tower Ideas:
1. See the video of ink drops in midair in freefall (what is the shape)
This one could work, though it would be interesting to see how much the video camera will be able to focus in so that you can really determine this. Depending on how you set this up, though, it may be hard to observe the drops in that they will cease to fall when the apparatus is in free-fall, certainly. Here is a video from a past dime experiment that may give you some ideas to further explore this issue:
http://www.youtube.com/user/dime10nasa#p/u/15/lqsIAfIMUVo
2. Will a solution precipitate out of solution or dissolve into solution in zero g
This could be an interesting one, though maybe a tricky one to really test out in 2.2 seconds. Maybe if you were to really prepare certain solutions in in advance it could work out, but lets talk about this some more. ....eg. silver nitrate and sodium cloride are both clear, colorless liquids that lead to white precipitate.
3. Something with the effect of gravity on surface tension with different liquids (water, mercury, sugar solution)
This is a very interesting one; the real test would be to come up with a way to test this out in the time give. Here are some videos that tie into fluid effects if not specifically surface tension.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dime10nasa#p/u/0/XXsf9LggIuA (capillary action, DIME)
http://www.youtube.com/user/dime10nasa#p/u/1/wOqYCt-n2ts (this one relates a bit to capillary action as well, WING)
http://www.youtube.com/user/dime10nasa#p/u/3/G_qWka6g7gQ (this one is also similar to those above, WING)
The video on the homepage might also give you some ideas regarding surface tension.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dime10nasa#p/u/11/bmKMJezGTd8 (This one is pretty neat and also relates to capillary action and surface tension)

These are the rest of the ideas we talked about:

-a spinning top
This might just bounce up and hit the ceiling of your container for the exp., probably hard to test....maybe a gyroscope? There coud be a way to advance the demonstration show here maybe (I think this could be performed better or more could be done)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIPQ1F-gHdw
-the effect on bubbles
such as? What kind of bubbles? How do you create them? Is the container filled with a fluid such as oil with bubbles? Do you mean carbonation?
-a balloon filled half with water and half with helium....?
que? What next?
-dry ice (shape of fog that emerges from it)

-this is kind of like # 3 above but having a few liquids with different densities in a jar and see if they stay separated


Another option is shooting a paintball from one side, having it explode on the other side of the chamber in 0g, and observing the path the paint takes after the ball pops.
This could be a neat possibility and you would definitely see results in the 2.2 s time frame. It would just have to be rigged to fire while the cage is in free-fall....lets talk about this one more.



Class time Discussion:10/20/10
1. Different densities in a jar (mercury like substance, water, oil)
THis could work out, just what would you expect would happen....this one could be interesting, but tricky to set up repeatedly.
a. Put straws to see how and the extent to which capillary action occurs in zero gravity in different liquids
2. Shooting a paintball and looking at the splatter pattern and its trajectory
  • Ball of paint having something shot at it to see the splatter.
  • or a paint ball shot at a paint-filled balloon (of a different color) so we can clearly see what happens to each color as they collide and the splatter of each
3. See how carbonation works in microgravity by shaking a carbonated liquid before it is dropped and observing what happens to the bubbles.
This one seems pretty interesting and is nice and simple...I think you guys could run with this. Just think about what you expect should happen.

http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/people/journals/space/kloeris/05-01-01. Read the paragraph about carbonated beverages. I think this article confirms what are beliefs are about what might happen in microgravity.



Sections I-III are limited to a total of 1500 words.
I. SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES

A. Describe briefly and clearly the research question you hope to answer.- Louis

This is good. You will want to go a step further here, however: you are looking at the effects of already formed bubbles in a microgravity environment, correct? The way this is phrased, it could read that you are expecting a carbonated beverage to become uncarbonated in microgravity, while I think you just want to observe the effects of bubbles which has more to do with bouyancy of the bubbles, rather than the carbonation itself....your thoughts? Also, you will want to look into whether your test at all would address the comment made in the first sentence about not burping...why ARE they forbidden? First answer that question, maybe.


Corrected:
Before astronauts are launched into space, they are forbidden from burping when experiencing zero gravity conditions. The sole purpose in this restriction lay in the process of carbonation. But why is this so bad? Without gravity, the human digestive system cannot separate gasses from other states of matter. As a result, a burp would not only bring up gasses, but also solids and liquids which will therefore induce vomit.
We will run our experiment under regular gravitational conditions, and then run the experiment again in the drop tower so as to observe the nature of carbonation in the absence of gravity. Our question is, simply put: what happens to the buoyant force a carbonated liquid exerts on its bubbles in a zero gravity environment?

This is better.

B. Describe how you expect your proposed experiment to be changed by microgravity.- Alex
This section needs alot added to it, but additionally, some statements here, when read literally, are false. We will want to discuss the science behind the concepts here because they definitely need more development.

Corrected:
On Earth, the reason bubbles in a carbonated beverage float to the top is because they are less dense than the fluid they are in and the force of bouyancy pushes them upwards. In microgravity we expect the the bubbles to move randomly creating fizz in the center of the container. We also expect the liquid molecules to surround the fizz due to the cohesive force of the liquid molecules and the adhesive force of the liquid molecules to the inner surface of the container.

C. Include a hypothesis that can be tested in 2.2 seconds of microgravity.- Logan

If we shake up the bottle after opening and closing it, then foam will fill up the portion of the bottle that was only air. Then, if we drop the bottle at this point, the foam at the top will sink to the middle of the bottle. The little carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda will also flow towards the middle.

This is a start, but this is not all that you talked about. Where does it form? Also, are you going to have additional effects due to the air that is in the bottle as well? You are discussing the carbonation bubbles, but won't there be more than that? Write this hypothesis in a more if/then format.




D. Describe the procedures that will be used to observe, measure and interpret the results (this one will take alot if thought)- Laura


A 2-liter bottle will be filled with seltzer water. The bottle will be shaken to make the seltzer water as carbonated as possible. We will then mount the bottle on the metal plate and let it drop.

The results can be observed by the plain eye. The appearance, the number, and the size of bubbles will be observed.

Be careful with wording here....does shaking the bottle really make it more carbonated? Also, will you really be able to discuss the number of bubbles (meaning are you expecting there to be more of them)? For design purposes, what do you think about scale marks on the bottle?

The Carbon Dioxide bubbles in carbonation result from the decomposition of Carbonic Acid lying in an equilibrium with Water and Carbon Dioxide. In our experiment, 2-liter bottles will be filled with their respective carbonated liquid and then agitated, so as to increase the energy of the system and therefore favor the production of Carbon Dioxide bubbles. Then, the bottles will be dropped in the drop-tower so as to enter a zero-gravity environment. Video footage of the drop will be captured, and we will then be able to slow down the footage, and observe what the bubbles do in the absence of gravity. We are expecting all of the bubbles to conjoin and meet in the center due to the lack of buoyant force acting upon the system in microgravity. Scaling the bottle may provide a reference ot measure any possible rise or fall in the volume of the liquid. Also, scaling the bottle will allow us to measure the volume of air in the central bubble, by substracting the volume during the fall from the initial volume. (Archimedes' Principle)

E. Describe the purpose and potential benefits from this experiment and address some possible practical applications of the work.- Anthony

The study of carbonation is very important to both the soda industries and to the well being of austronauts. The use of carbonation in industry proves that its use is widespread and further research on the topic could lead to improvements in the mechanization of industries. This experiment most likely would be very effective in checking the relative carbonation of different solutions. This can be done in microgravity because we expect one large bubble of carbonation to appear. Since in normal g, we cannot see all of the carbonation within the bottle, in zero g we will be able to see these bubbles suspended into one. Therefore, in normal g, some solutions that might appear to not have any carbonation, in zero g, one can check to see if there is any carbonation in solution. This can be used in the soda industry to prevent and see when sodas turn flat and could lead to a field of product research that could try to lengthen the time in which sodas stay “fizzy”



I am a little confused at the end of this paragraph by what you mean by beverages seeming to be not carbonated in zero-g might actually be carbonated....but overall this is interesting and has some good applications. I think these applications could be fleshed out and discussed more because this could be a big selling point for your experiment.

Remeber this needs to be done BY Monday Morning! Also, work as a team to tweak PART I
II. Technical Plan
A. Give a clear, detailed description of the experimental apparatus to be used and any hardware to be built. At least one figure or diagram of the experimental must be included in section V of your proposal (the Figures section)- ALEX
For our experiment, we will need 2 clear, closed containers that hold about 2 liters to place the carbonated liquids. We will place Sprite in one and Tonic Water in the other to compare. We will be using plastic containers or containers like plastic that can withstand great forces placed upon it. We will secure the container either by bolting or another method to the board to prevent the motion of the container and or liquids during the fall.


I like this simplified design. One thing you will want to confirm is whether or not you would be able to fit both 2-liter bottles into the field of vision of the camera.


B. Describe the expected sequence of events during the operation of the experiment. Explain how it will answer your research question.- LOGAN


We will shake up sprite/seltzer water so that foam fills up the top, and liquid fills up the rest of the bottle. When the bottle is dropped the foam at the top will go down into the middle of the bottle, and the liquid will encompass it. The little carbon dioxide bubbles will also be drawn to the middle and might come together due to cohesive forces.


C. Explain the design features that will allow the experiment to survive the impact and be usable for another drop.- ANTHONY










D. Explain how your experiment will provide useful data which can be collected in 2.2 seconds.- LAURA


We can observe what the effect of zero gravity has on carbonation. We will also be able to see the aftermath of the free fall and how it affected the bubbles. The appearance of the bubbles while in free fall will show us what happens to soda and beer in outer space.



E. Describe ground testing prior to reduced-gravity testing.- LOUIS


Ground testing of this experiment would be quite simple. First, separate the liquids into different containers. Then, shake each container and observe the behavior of their respective bubbles. Doing this will provide a factor with which to compare the video footage of the experiment in the drop tower.


This is okay. You will want to actually do this, take pictures of the two liquids, and add the pictures digitally to you proposal in the next two days. This first sentence does not seem to pertain to this section.

F. Be sure the design meets the safety and design requirements in the DIME packet given to you.





















RESOURCES:
^^This is very good. I also like slide 22....could temperature effects be tested here? How?